Roughly six months ago, Moshi, the SF Bay Area manufacturer of premium bags, headphones, protective cases, and other digital lifestyle products, introduced their Spring/Summer 2018 Urban Safari bag collection. What we got were some stylish mini backpacks for women and men. We already had the pleasure of reviewing the Tego Urban Backpack so now let’s take a closer look at one of the recently released designer backpacks for women in this Moshi Helios Mini backpack review.

This is One Stylish Mini Backpack for Women!

If you’re familiar with this website, then you know that after doing more than a dozen Moshi product reviews, we’re fans of this lifestyle brand. Still, we don’t allow that fact to cloud our objectivity.

Per the press release: “Moshi is excited to launch new bags as part of their 2018 Urban Safari collection. This collection is entirely crafted from sustainable vegan leather – ideal for the casually elegant travellers amongst us seeking an ethical wardrobe that doesn’t compromise on style and quality.”

“Helios Mini is a small designer backpack also crafted with lightweight, weather-resistant vegan leather. Its slim silhouette is ideal for users seeking a compact premium bag that can carry a 13-inch USB-C MacBook Pro, or a tablet with room to spare for sunglasses, a water bottle and wallet. Helios Mini is also available in Olive Green and Savanna Beige, with an MSRP of $130 USD on www.moshi.com.”

Moshi Helios Mini Backpack Review

Because I’m not the target consumer for this stylish laptop bag for women (being a guy and all), I needed a woman’s perspective and one that is my junior. Thankfully, I was able to enlist the help of one of my more attractive friends for this review. You can see photos of her sporting the Helios Mini designer backpack throughout this post.

First impressions are important, and the ones I received from her were excellent. “I really like the Helios Mini because it’s not only stylish, but it’s sufficient. It has plenty of pockets for everything I need to carry on the go.”

Don’t believe her? Then feel free to walk around a large department store like Macy’s or peruse the web. I welcome you to compare Moshi’s bags and backpacks to those that you see there. Only then will you know you’ve found the right bag or backpack for you.

On The Outside…

If you’re familiar with the Helios Lite backpack, then you’ve probably noticed something different about the Helios Mini. This time around, Moshi utilizes a design comprised of weather-resistant and easy-to-clean premium vegan leather as opposed to fabric. Although the Mini is the little sister of the Lite, they look and feel different on the outside.

The differences don’t end there. Silver hardware has been replaced with ones of gold.

On the front, you’ll see one left-to-right zipper plus two faux-adjustable straps with magnetic snap latches. This zippered pocket is a perfect place to store glasses and the Vortex Air in-ear headphones. You can’t help but notice how the gold zipper stands out. The metal handle is stamped or engraved with the ‘moshi’ logo. Like the one on the rear, both zipper handles complement the color patterns and offer a contrast to the 90-degree angles of the bag.

There’s also the standard square metal ‘moshi’ logo located on the lower right front of the Helios Mini.

On the rear of this 9.06″ x 13″ x 4.3″ designer backpack is one nearly top-to-bottom zippered Napoleon pocket. If you want to hide those items that’ll make you most upset if lost or stolen (identification cards, wallet, passport, etc.), then I suggest this pocket or the RFID protected one on the inside is where you hide them.

What’s truly magical is a portion of the metal handle can be tucked away. Although barely noticeable, it’s a beautiful addition to the Helios backpack line. Like with the vegan leather/fabric adjustable shoulder straps, the handles show that added bit of care and craftsmanship.

One thing you don’t see on this mini backpack is water bottle holders. You can tuck that drink away on the inside.

As stated in many of our Moshi reviews, “The zippers and straps are of high-quality, and the stitching is put together well.”

… And Now For The Inside

The interior of the Helios Mini is broken down into three compartments. Directly underneath the top front flap is the first compartment capable of holding some notes. It’s accented with black vegan leather trim.

The next two compartments are within the bag’s opening. First, there’s the thickly padded 13″ MacBook Pro compartment which protects your pricey tech in the event of a drop. Opposite to the padded compartment is a zippered pocket for your most sacred items, i.e., wallet, passport, etc., plus a few sleeved pockets for items like a pen, a toothbrush, USB cables, or a power charger like the Moshi IonBank 5K.

Within the bag is plenty of space for a few food items and/or Moshi’s Avanti headphones. There’s also an adjustable strap down low to tighten or loosen the width of the pack.

Just like Moshi’s other product lines, the lining of this bag is luxurious. On this particular model, the lining is dark gray.

This bag weighs 1.55 lbs and as stated earlier, has dimensions of 9.06″ x 13″ x 4.3″. For you Metric System users, the weight is 0.7 kilogram, and its dimensions are 23 x 33 x 11 cm.

Final Thoughts

Both color patterns of the Helios Mini are available for purchase on either Amazon (see link below) and the Moshi website (see links above.)

The Helios Mini is one beautiful designer laptop backpack which fits nicely within Moshi’s Summer 2018 Bag Collection. Should your needs steer you to something larger, then I direct you to Moshi’s Helios. Whether you’re a fashion-conscious college student or a young urban professional who likes to accessorize, I believe you’ll be quite pleased with the Helios Mini. I know my model is.

We review plenty of bags every year, so if the Helios Mini isn’t a contender for the best designer backpack for women in 2018 and beyond, then we don’t know what is.

What do you think of this Moshi Helios Mini backpack review? Do you agree or disagree that this is one of the more stylish mini backpacks for women this year? Let us know in the comment section below or via social media. Moshi and we are eager to hear your thoughts.

Don’t hesitate to head over to the Moshi press page to see their latest product announcements. To learn more about service and support, click here for their Support page. There’s a one-year limited warranty on all Moshi products. There’s also an extended warranty via product registration. We highly advise you take advantage of this.

FTC Disclosure: Moshi provided Beantown LLC with one (1) Helios Mini designer laptop backpack sample (in savanna beige) for review purposes. This writer’s opinion is 100% his own and not a paid product ambassador.

All photographs are the copyrighted property of Beantown LLC © 2018.